Zooming out on the Ever Given – these photos from space capture the magnitude of the 1,312-foot vessel

March 27, 2021 Kevin Shalvey Uncategorized Comments Off

Ever Given Suez Canal from above photo.JPG — A satellite image shows the Suez Canal blocked by the stranded container ship Ever Given.
Roscosmos via REUTERS

The Ever Given, a 1,312-foot cargo ship, has been stuck in the Suez Canal since Tuesday, causing a traffic jam on either side of one of the world's most active waterways.

By one estimate, it's costing the global economy about $400 million in losses per hour. Officials in Egypt said it could take days or even weeks to dislodge the ship, giving satellites plenty of time to snap photos showing the massive scale of the ship.

Let's begin with an up-close look at the Ever Given. In this photo released by the Suez Canal Authority, crews are working on shore to refloat the ship.

Ever Given in the Suez Canal — Suez Canal Authority via AP

Backing away from the Ever Given, we can get a better sense of the size of the 1,312-foot Panama-flagged cargo ship.

The Ever Given cargo ship towering over a local building — Tugboats and a specialized suction dredger worked Friday to dislodge a giant container ship.
Mohamed Elshahed/AP Photo

Now let's jump up to a satellite, which captured this picture of the 224,000-tonne ship blocking the canal.

Suez Canal Ever Given photo from above.JPG — BlackSky via REUTERS

Here's another satellite image of the ship, which can hold about 20,000 shipping containers.

Suez Canal zoomed out satellite Ever Given.JPG — European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel-2 Satellite Image via Maxar Technologies via Reuters

Zooming out a bit, we can see more of the canal, which is mostly empty. The Mediterranean Sea is to the north, toward the upper right-hand corner of this image.

Suez Canal satellite image zoomed out Ever Given.JPG — CNES/Airbus DS via Reuters

Zooming out farther adds more context. Below, we can see other cargo ships idling in the Red Sea to the south.

Suez Canal Ever Given Satellite Russian Zoomed Out.JPG — This image came from Twitter page of Director General of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin.
Roscosmos via Reuters

Here's another satellite view without all the clutter. Those tiny colored lines are ships idling in Red Sea, waiting to pass through the canal. We can just make out the Ever Given in the upper left-hand corner.